Rand Breaks Through R12/Dollar Barrier

The banks being investigated include Standard Bank, Investec, Absa, and JPMorgan Chase. PICTURE: Business Day

The rand has reached its strongest levels in more than two years, breaking through the R12/dollar mark.

It is currently trading at R11.94 to the dollar. Economists say this can be attributed to the weaker greenback and improving sentiment around politics in South Africa. Investors have been reacting positively to the appointment of new leaders in the African National Congress (ANC) and the new Eskom board announce over the weekend.

The impetus this time came from the overseas markets‚ where the dollar hovered at fresh three-year lows against the basket of currencies.

The dollar weakness since the start of the year has caught some off guard‚ coming in the face of upbeat indicators that back the case for more interest rate increases.

Global equity markets showed continued upward momentum‚ helping the rand‚ which has been one of the best performing currencies‚ at least since December.

At 9.39am‚ the rand was at R12.0259 to the dollar from R12.0333‚ at R14.8104 to the euro from R14.7987 and at R16.8756 to the pound from R16.8456.